Dredge conveyer



Nov. 26, 1935.

H. G. SHAW 2,022,300

DREDGE CONVEYER i e v- 22, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Horace C5. ShawPatented Nov. 26, 1935 UNETED STATES rinses PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in dredges and has reference moreparticularly to the construction of the conveyer and dredging bucketsand the manner in which the latter are connected with the conveyerchain.

In dredging operations for the purpose of ob taining placer gravel forplacer mining and for increasing the depths of streams and harbors, aswell as in many other places, it is customary to provide an endlessconveyer belt which is mounted on sprocket wheels and rollers carried bya pivoted arm and to attach to such belt a number of buckets in such away that when the conveyer belt is moved, the buckets will dig into thebottom of the river or other bodyof water and fill themselves withmaterial from the bottom and will then carry the material upwardly andempty it into a hopper from which it can be directed into a placermining machine, if the apparatus is used for placer mining, o-rinto'ascow, if the apparatus is used for deepening the bottoms of harbors orrivers so as to facilitate navigation.

Having thus briefly described the objects of the invention, theconstruction of the apparatus will now be described in detail, and forthis purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in whichthe apparatus has been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the apparatusthat forms the subject of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the apratus looking in thedirection of arrow 3, Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a side elevation to a somewhat enlarged scale of the sectionof the conveyer and shows one of the buckets connected therewith;

Fig. 5 is a view looking in the direction of arrow 5 in Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a View taken along line 66, in Fig. 2, and shows theconstruction of the pawl associated with the winch employed foradjusting the conveyer; and

Fig. '7 is a section taken on line ll, Fig. 4.

For the purpose of this description the apparatus has been shown assupported on a scow 9. This scow is constructed so as to ficat on thewater in the usual way and has a central opening it through which theconveyer extends. The conveyer consists of a framework having twoparallel bottom members i I from one end of which vertical corner postsl2 extend. From the other ends of members i l, inclined corner posts itextend upwardly. The posts l2 and it are connected by means of beams l4,l5 and IS. The

beam indicated by reference numeral 5 is a channel beam of aconsiderable width. The two sides of the frame are connected in a mannercustornary with such framework, but which has not been shown here as itis considered to be imma- 5 t-erial as the invention relates to otherfeatures of the apparatus. Supported on the upper flanges of beams itare bearings ll in which is journaled a shaft l8. Attached to the shaftare two sprocket wheels i9. Pivotally connected with 10 the shaft it,are two channel irons 26 that are interconnected by suitable transversebraces which have not been shown. Secured to the outer ends of thechannel beams 2i and resting against the lower flanges, are bearingblocks 25 in which the shaft 22 is rotatably mounted. Carried by theshaft 22 are two spaced rollers 23. The rollers are so positioned thatthey lie in the same plane as the corresponding sprocket wheel on shaftiii. A plate 2 1 is supported from the upper flanges of the beams: 20 bymeans of brackets 25, 2t, and 2?. The plate 2 5 is preferably of thesame width as the distance between the outer surfaces of the sprocketwheels It. Two link conveyer chains 28 are provided, one for eachsprocket wheel. Each conveyer chain extends around a sprocket wheel andaround a roller 23. The chains are made up of iron plates as shown inFigs. 4 .and 5. When the shaft l8 rotates, it also rotates the sprocketWheels it 30 and moves the two conveyer belts or chains 28. The beams 2thave their free ends supported by means of two steel cables 29. Thesecables pass over pulleys 36 supported by the frame work comprising thecompression member 3| and the ten sion member 32. The steel cablesextend rearwardly and are wrapped onto drums 33 that are secured to theshaft 3 Referring now to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the shaft 36 isalso provided with a ratchet wheel 35 with which a pawl 36 cooperates.This pawl is pivoted at 3? to a plate 38 carried by one of the channelbeams lb. The shaft 34 can be rotated in any suitable way and a crank 39has been shown as the means for rotating this shaft, although in actualoperation mechanism will be provided for turning it by power derivedfrom the same prime mover that operates the conveyer.

For the purpose of operating the conveyer and 50 rotating theshaft It,the latter has been provided at one end with a worm gear 40 thatcooperates with a worm 4| carried on the vertical shaft 52. The shaft 42is provided at its lower end with a bevel gear 43 that cooperates with apinion 44 on the shaft 45. A pulley 46 is also secured to the shaft 45and can be driven from an internal combustion engine. or any other formof motor. Whenever the shaft 45 is rotated, the shaft is will also berotated and during operation the direction of rotation is such that theconveyor belt or chains travel in the direction indicated by the arrowsin Fig. 3.

Secured to the conveyer chains are buckets 41. These buckets are madefrom steel plates and are provided on each side with a pair of links 48which are pivoted to the bucket as indicated at 48 and have their otherends pivotally connected with the pivots of the chain as indicated byreference numeral 50. Elongated links have one of their ends pivoted tothe bucket at 52 and the other end pivoted to the chain at 53, all asshown in Fig. 4. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that the buckets areconnected to the sprocket chains in such a way that they will notinterfere with the bending of the chain as it passes around the sprocketwheels and the rollers and at the same time the buckets will be firmlyanchored to the chains by means of the links 5! so as to resist thestrains to which they will be subjected when contacting with the bottomof the river or other body of water in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Afterthe buckets have been filled they will move upwardly with the movementof the sprocket chains and finally pass over the highest portion of thesprocket wheels I9, after which they will begin to tilt downwardly andthe contents will then be emptied into the hopper 5a. The hopper has aspout 55 from which alunders can extend to any machine or any otherapparatus to which the contents of the buckets are to be conveyed forfurther treatment.

It will be seen from the above description that the apparatus that formsthe subject of this invention is so constructed that it will have greatstrength and a large capacity and that it is admirably suited for usewherever any dredging operations are to be performed.

If the apparatus is to be used for digging a trench or in places wherewater is not available for floating the same, the apparatus can befastened to runners and supported from the surface of the ground whilethe dredging apparatus is at work digging a trench or performing someother useful operation. The whole apparatus can be moved forward on theground by means of a tractor or some other powerful traction device.

Particular attention is called to the manner in which the buckets aresecured to the conveyer chains as this has been found to be especiallydesirable as it produces a movement of the bucket at the time offilling, which has a tendency to decrease the power required to operatethe machine and also to make it possible to fill the buckets tocapacity. This action of the buckets is due to the sudden tiltingproduced as the buckets start rotating about the center of shaft 22.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A dredging device comprising, in combination, a supporting frameformed from two spaced members, a shaft extending between the framemembers and mounted for rotation, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, a pairof beams having one end pivoted to the shaft, a drum rotatably connectedwith the beams near their outer ends, a chain encircling the sprocketwheel and the drum,

means for adjusting the beams about the shaft as a pivot, a plurality ofdredge buckets carried by the chain, means for attaching the buckets tothe chain comprising two pairs of short links, one pair on each side,the said links being pivot- 5 ally connected to the bucket at one endand to the chain at the other end, and a pair of long links extendingforwardly from the open end of each bucket, one end of each long linkbeing pivoted to the chain and the other to the bucket.

2. A dredging device comprising, in combination, a supporting frameformed from two spaced members, a shaft extending between the framemembers and mounted for rotation, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, a pairof beams having one end pivoted to the shaft, a drum rotatably connectedwith the beams near their outer ends, a chain encircling the sprocketwheel and the drum, means for adjusting the beams about the shaft as apivot, a plurality of dredge buckets carried by the chain, means forattaching the buckets to the chain comprising two pairs of short links,one pair on each side, the said links being pivotally connected to thebucket at one end and to the chain at the other end, a pair of longlinks extending forwardly from the open end of each bucket, one end ofeach long link being pivoted to the chain and the other to the bucket,and means for rotating the shaft.

3. A dredging device comprising, in cornbination, a supporting frameformed from two spaced members, a shaft extending between the framemembers and mounted for rotation, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, a pairof beams having one end pivoted to the shaft, a drum rotatably connectedwith the beams near their outer ends, a chain encircling the sprocketwheel and the drum, means for adjusting the beams about the shaft as apivot, a plurality of dredge buckets carried by the chain, means forattaching the buckets 40 to the chain comprising two pairs of shortlinks, one pair on each side, the said links being pivotally connectedto the bucket at one end and to the chain at the other end, a pair oflong links extending forwardly from the open end of each bucket, one endof each long link being pivoted to the chain and the other to thebucket, and a chain supporting plate located above the beams andsupported from the latter by means of suitable brackets. 5

4. A bucket conveyer for use with a dredging device comprising a chain,a plurality of buckets carried by the chain, and means for attaching thebuckets to the chain, said means comprising a pair of short links oneach side of the bucket, one end of each link being pivoted to the chainand the other to the bucket, and a long link pivoted to each side of thebucket and extending forwardly from the open end thereof, the other endsof the long links being pivotally connected to 0 the chain.

5. A bucket conveyer for use with a dredging device comprising a chain,a plurality of buckets carried by the chain, and means for attaching thebuckets to the chain, said means comprising a pair of short links oneach side of the bucket, one end of each link being pivoted to the chainand the other to the bucket, and a long link hav ing one end pivotallyconnected with the open end of the bucket and the other pivotaliy con-79 nected with the chain in front of the bucket.

HORACE G. SHAW.

